VIA Tradewinds
China Steel Express Corp’s 175,775-dwt bulker [B]China Steel Integrity[/B] (built 2002) went aground off the port of Kashima, reports K Line.
The ship, which was said to be carrying a cargo of iron ore, was anchored off the port as the tsunami struck, the Japanese shipowner said.
The crew, which comprised four Taiwanese officers and 21 Chinese crew, were all reported safe, according to K Line.
Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) report that the chartered in 32,385-dwt bulker [B]CS Victory[/B] (built 2003) has also become a casualty.
The Panama-flagged handysize bulker was carried toward the breakwater by the tsunami and now sits on the bottom of the shallow harbour at Ishinomaki in Miyagi prefecture.
All the crew members left the vessel on orders of the harbour master, and none were injured. None of the cargo of kaolin or fuel oil has spilled from the ship.
Other casualties include Mitsubishi Logistics Corp’s 6,175-dwt general cargo ship [B]Asia Symphony[/B] (built 1998).
The location of the casualty is unknown, but photographs show the Panama-flagged vessel hard aground.
Reports also say that Glovis’ 6,901-dwt general cargo vessel [B]Glovis Mercury[/B] (built 1989) has become a casualty, but no further details were available.
By Dale Wainwright in Singapore
If anyone has any more info let us know…